According to Hamilton County VA administrator LuAnn Jackson, over 7,700 soldiers are missing in action and the United States Department of Defense is still searching to recover them or their remains.  In Iowa alone, there are 124 soldiers listed as MIAs.

While the Department of Defense continues its efforts to locate these men, there is an effort to locate the families and assure them that their loved ones will not be forgotten.

Frank Allen Neal was born in Webster City on August 10, 1933.  He enlisted into the US Army in August 1949.  According to service records, Neal lied about his age as he was only 16 at the time of his enlistment.

SFC Neal served during the Korean War with the 25th Reconnaissance Company of the 25th Infantry Division, arriving in Pusan, Korea on July 17, 1950.  

Frank Neal

While fighting along the Pusan Perimeter eleven days later, he was listed as Missing in Action. He was listed as dead on July 28, but presumed dead on Dec. 31, 1953.

SFC Neal’s remains have never been recovered.

Neal’s name is entered on the Court of the Missing Monument at the National Parks Service and American Battle Monument Commission location in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Paul Joseph Jacobson was born in Williams, Iowa on April 30, 1929.  He was the only child born to Hairm and Marjorie Jacobson.  He was living in Ames, Iowa when he enlisted on Jan. 1, 1951 in Des Moines.  The city of Elmore, Minnesota, Faribault County is listed as his hometown.

Jacobson enlisted in the Air Force and served during the Korean War, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. He was a specialty pilot who served on the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group.

First Lieutenant Jacobson was the pilot of a F-86F Sabrejet with the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On February 12, 1953, while on the mission of escorting a RF-80 photo reconnaissance aircraft over the Sinuiju Area near the Yalu River, his flight of four F-86s engaged six MiG-15s. He was listed as Missing in Action and was declared dead on Feb. 12, 1953 and presumed dead on February 28, 1954. 

His remains have never been recovered.

Jacobson is remembered at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., a National Parks Service and American Battle Monuments Commission location.

If anyone with information on any family members of either Frank Neal or Paul Jacobson, they are asked to contact administrator LuAnn Jackson, Hamilton County Veterans Affairs office at 515 832-9595.